"Pick up the battle and make it a better world just where you are. Yes. And it can be better and it must be better, but it is up to us."
In 1982, a student from Hunter College's School of Social Work rallied a small group of impassioned community activists to address the lack of services available to Chinese immigrant women experiencing domestic violence in New York City. History was made when the New York Asian Women’s Center (later renamed to Womankind), was born—an organization for Asian women by Asian women during a time when nothing of its kind existed on the East Coast. Continue reading Yasmeen's letter about Womankind's past, present, and future.
For our 40th Anniversary, we have set a goal of raising $100,000 to bolster our advocacy and policy work.
As we begin to recover from two devastating years of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn, increased domestic violence, and a spike in anti-Asian hate, it is imperative that we strengthen our capacity to be present in creating solutions that champion the survivors and AAPI communities that we serve. Womankind is amplifying our advocacy efforts so that we can adequately address the inequities plaguing our communities and bring about real systemic change at the city, state, and federal levels of government.
Currently, much-needed perspectives from diverse pan-Asian communities—specifically gender-based violence survivors—are inadequately represented in key spaces. These essential funds will help us:
- participate and co-lead diverse coalitions at the city, state, and federal levels
- educate and disseminate critical information on policies and legislation
- lead and organize impactful marches and rallies with allies
- empower and train survivors as leaders in our movement
- mobilize and push for greater funding to support the work of Asian and survivor-serving community-based organizations
- conduct culturally relevant and linguistically accessible community workshops and trainings on key issues impacting our communities - Asians, survivors, women, immigrants, low-income families
- hire an Advocacy and Policy Manager to spearhead survivor-centric advocacy work
We invite community members including you to work towards our vision of creating a future where we Rise Above Violence.
We cannot do this work alone. Let's join forces to help survivors and their children. Here are five simple ways for you to get started. We are positive that with your help, we can reach our fundraising goal of $100,000 by December 31, 2022.
1. Join the 40th Anniversary Circle of Phoenixes
We are convening a Circle of Phoenixes—dedicated supporters—who can contribute directly to our funds
for advocacy work. Below are the three levels and its benefits. Pro-Tip: Check in with your place of employment to see if your impact can be doubled through a
company matching program.
| hyperlinked logo on website | inclusion in dedicated 40th Anniversary eblast | acknowledgement on social media | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Phoenix / $5,000+ | x | x | x |
| Purple Phoenix / $2,500+ | x | x | |
| Pink Phoenix / $1,000+ | x |
2. Host a Fundraiser for Womankind
Gather your friends and family and host a fundraiser. By doing good together, you’ll inspire others to learn more about our work and grow our community dedicated to making a true difference in the lives of survivors and their children.
3. Connect Womankind with your company and employee resource groups (ERGs)
If you and your company would like to be a driving force for social good and invest in the communities we serve, please reach out to Carolyn Antonio, Chief Development Officer, at cantonio@iamwk.org or 212-732-0054 (x105).
4. Share Your Womankind Story
We are building an archive for Womankind’s history and are looking for those who would like to share a story or testimonial on how Womankind has impacted their life. If interested, please reach out to Gabrielle Nguyen, Communications Manager, at gnguyen@iamwk.org.
5. Stay in Touch with Womankind
For the rest of the year, we will be sending out periodic updates to let you know how far we’ve come in achieving our goal. Sign up for our mailing list or follow us on social media @iamwomankind. Be sure to like and share our content, too!
